After The Altar Falls 소설 & 이야기

After Cain called off our mate-bonding ceremony for the ninth time—calling it off for the sake of his childhood sweetheart—the Alpha himself came to the Abel family estate to deliver an apology in person. "We are prepared to offer an additional 300kg of frost iron, three hunting territories west of Silvermoon Forest, and nine forges in the pack compound," he announced. "Consider this reparations for the nine broken betrothals." Before his words even faded, Cain's laughter crackled through the phone speaker. "Dad, is she honestly worth that kind of price? I could toss her a half-rotted beast bone soaked in moonlight and she'd still come crawling. You'd be better off funneling those resources into Lina's beast-training arena." The old Alpha ended the call without a second thought. His golden wolf eyes shifted toward me, heavy with visible unease. The gathered wolves stifled their snickers, their throats rippling with suppressed laughter. Every pair of eyes fixed on me, gleaming with anticipation of the show. They all expected me to swallow the humiliation, just as I always had. After all, every wolf in Silvermoon Pack knew the tale: I, the Abel family daughter, had been pining for Cain, the Alpha King's youngest son, for years. Pathetic and devoted. But I'd endured this exact scene eight times before. I was done with it. And more than that, I was done with him. A beat of silence passed. Then I lifted my gaze, searching the crowd until I found the one face Cain despised most: his older brother, Cass. A slow smile curved my lips. "Whoever I claim as my mate inherits the Alpha title," I said. "Does that promise still stand?"

At the family dinner over the holidays, Elias Barrett has given all of our relatives and their children thick wads of cash. When it's my turn, he just frowns at me. "We've been together for so long. What's the point in going through the motions? You're the one managing the finances, so you can just withdraw what you need from the account." I merely nod without saying anything. But soon, I notice a text message from his bank popping out on the notifications' list. "You have transferred 1,430 dollars to Jamie Sutton. Remark: Babe, happy holidays. XOXO Elias." It turns out that Elias' anti-formalism rule is meant for me, not others. I don't bother starting a fight or throwing a tantrum. Instead, I just cancel the booking on my wedding venue that will be used next month. After that, I shred the kidney donation consent form meant for Elias into pieces. Once the holidays are over, I'm not going to extend Elias' life for him anymore.

"Gabriella, are you really going to fly abroad and leave Owen behind?" In the quiet cafe, Gabriella Candola puts down the spoon in her hand. She then looks at Anne Lockwood, her best friend, sitting across from her at the table, who wears a flabbergasted expression. In a casual tone, she replies, "We're already divorced." "Divorced?" Anne never expects to hear such shocking news coming from Gabriella's lips. As soon as the shock passes, she begins lamenting about the injustice on Gabriella's behalf. "And Owen actually agreed to the divorce? You treated him so well over the past three years! Even if his heart were made of ice, it'd have melted by now, right? Does he really not have any feelings for you?" Gabriella just smiles in return, a glint appearing in her eyes.

Elena found out her husband was cheating—not from him, but from the headlines. The man didn't even have the decency to keep it in his pants or out of the press. He made her a public joke, expecting her to just sit there and take it. Bad move. Elena didn’t cry. She got busy. She put his mistress in a jumpsuit, took every dime of his money, and handed him the divorce papers with a smile. She was done. Like, officially done with men and their drama. But then, something weird happened. The second she stopped caring, everyone else started obsessing. Now, she’s literally the most wanted woman in the city. We’re talking billionaire heirs, hot surgeons, mysterious bad boys, and even international superstars—all of them tripping over themselves to get her attention. Some have been crushing on her for years, while others are just now realizing what they missed out on. They’re all begging for a chance, but Elena’s not playing the supportive wife anymore. She’s the one holding the remote now, and she’s picky as hell.

“Sign the papers and leave!” He spat, his cold eyes stared at anywhere but her. **** Jessica has loved Brian since she met him and getting married to him felt like her wish came true. She devoted herself to him and tried her best to make sure their marriage did not fail even after Brian had repeatedly told her that he did not love her. He made no attempt to even touch her during their marriage. With his ex-girlfriend back in town, it was only a matter of time before he slipped through her fingers. One day, he returned home and told her that wanted a divorce and unfortunately for Jessica, she had received news that she was pregnant. She could not tell him about the kids and resorted to leaving, with the vow that she would have nothing to do with Brian knox and Angela White, his ex-girlfriend again. Years later, an unforeseen circumstances pushed Jessica back to where it all started and what happens when the first person she meets is her ex-husband? “Come back to me, Jessica.” He pleaded, his brows furrowing. Jessica smirked at him and shook her head. “The Jessica you know is dead. Now, this Jessica is a different person and wants to have nothing to do with you.” Brian decided that he will stop at nothing to win her back. What happens when he comes across three little cuties who looked so painfully like Jessica and him. “Whose kids are these?” He asked her. Her eyes hardened. “Mine, Mr. Brian Knox.” Will Jessica break her resolve and return to him or will Brian stop when he sees a man close to Jessica, thinking she had moved on?

My uncle, Jackson Yates, was a born pervert. While studying abroad, he was arrested for harassing female classmates and making lewd comments toward a female teacher. He was expelled and sent back home. After returning to the country, under the protection of my billionaire grandfather, he lived like an emperor, keeping hundreds of lovers in a villa. All of them vied for his attention. One day, he set his sights on my gentle, well-mannered wife—the rumored piano prodigy, Janelle Sanders. “My dear nephew, all because you grabbed your grandpa’s hand during your first birthday party game, the entire family chose you as the future heir. But as long as I don’t agree, you’ll never succeed.” He constantly harassed her, both verbally and physically. Janelle never tolerated it. She reported him to the police several times, resulting in him getting detained. She even scolded him sternly, “Cyril and I grew up together. Uncle Jackson, please remember your place!” Out of respect for his seniority, Janelle usually just reprimanded him coldly and walked away. Two years later, Jackson seemed to change. He took the initiative to manage a subsidiary and handled everything with impressive efficiency. Grandfather was pleased and handed the entire branch over to him. Just when I thought everything had returned to normal… At our son’s one-month celebration banquet, I saw Janelle in the kitchen. She was dressed provocatively as she desperately pressed herself against Jackson. Jackson lifted his head from her chest and gave me a smug smile.

My mate and my brother hated me for twelve years. They believed I stole their precious Sarah's herbal research and bullied her for twelve years into silence. At my marking ceremony, they exposed my "crimes" to the entire supernatural world. "She's nothing but a bully who torments her packmates and a thief who stole the herb formula from Sarah!" But Sarah smiled through her tears: "The formula doesn't matter anymore." "As long as it saved our wolves from silver poisoning, what does it matter who created it?" "I've already forgiven her." She became the pack's angel of mercy. I was condemned by thousands, until the very wolf I'd saved with my medicine poured silver water over my head. In my despair, I dragged Sarah down with me into death. When I opened my eyes again, I was back in my second year of high school. Sarah was slicing her arm with a silver blade, smiling as she asked: "Have you thought about how you'll apologize to me?" Something in me snapped. My Alpha power surged forth, crushing her to her knees. I grabbed the blade: "Let me show you what real cuts look like."

In my past life, I was a warrior who made the mistake of marrying Kaden, a quiet, dependable, and utterly boring beta scholar. My gentle sister Selene married Ethan Grimwolf, the Wolf King, and both our marriages ended in misery. Ethan's childhood friend, Cynthia, saw Selene as a rival and plotted her downfall with cruel schemes, until my sister died in despair. I rotted away in a loveless marriage and died bitter and unfulfilled. So when the Moon Goddess gave me a second chance, I knew exactly what I had to do. This time, I won't let fate destroy us. I switched our engagements, and now Ethan Grimwolf is mine. He might be the most dominant S-class alpha in this territory, and Cynthia might have bullied away every she-wolf who got close to him. Still, I'm not some fragile omega who crumbles under pressure. I'm a warrior beta, and if they come for me, I'll throw them on their ass in front of the whole pack. They say I stole my sister's destiny. Maybe I did. But if marrying this cold-blooded alpha means Selene gets her happiness, I'll tear through every wolf that stands in my way.

Everyone knew how much I was in love with Alex Carter. I was willing to do anything for Alex just to see him happy and never bothered if they ruined my dignity or worth. But to Alex, I was seen as a desperate shameless lady who wanted him by all means even though I knew he always had a lover. After we got married, he treated me like dirt and threw me in prison, accusing me of financial crimes. Killed by a jailer sent by him, I died with regret of loving him. When I woke up again, I found myself back on my wedding day with Alex in my previous life and realised it was an afterlife, a second chance at life. This time, I wouldn't let him ruin me twice.

My mother-in-law and I were trapped during an earthquake overseas. The rescue team knew that my husband had a private plane nearby and asked me to contact him, but I could only shake my head in rejection of the idea. In my last life, I tried my hardest to call him and get him to come save us. My mother-in-law and I were saved, but my husband’s true love got angry and went out to let off some steam. The incident ended with her being tortured to death. In front of his mother, my husband said that his lover deserved it. Yet, on the anniversary of her death, he killed me the way she had died. “I’ve always known that it was your scheme. You have to die as Shevonne did!” This time round, when my husband took his lover on a private plane to admire the cityscape at night, he found out everything that had happened and went mad.